A call center is a centralized office used for the purpose of handling a large volume of telephone calls. For example, a call center can be operated by an enterprise to process incoming calls from customers seeking product support or other information, in which the calls are directed to service agents who can then assist the customers. An enterprise can use a call center for outgoing calls as well.
FIG. 1 depicts telecommunications system 100 in the prior art, which features a call center. Telecommunications system 100 comprises telecommunications terminals 101-1 through 101-M, wherein M is a positive integer; telecommunications network 105; private branch exchange (PBX) 110; telecommunications terminals 111-1 through 111-N, wherein N is a positive integer; and interactive voice response (IVR) system 120, the depicted elements being interconnected as shown. The call center itself comprises elements 110, 111-1 through 111-N, and 120.
Calling telecommunications terminal 101-m, where m has a value between 1 and M, is one of a telephone, a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), etc. and is capable of placing and receiving calls via telecommunications network 105.
Telecommunications network 105 is a network such as the Public Switched Telephone Network [PSTN], the Internet, etc. that carries calls to and from telecommunications terminal 101, private branch exchange 110, and other devices not appearing in FIG. 1. A call might be a conventional voice telephony call, a video-based call, a text-based instant messaging (IM) session, a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) call, and so forth.
Private branch exchange (PBX) 110 receives incoming calls from telecommunications network 105 and directs the calls to IVR system 120 or to one of a plurality of telecommunications terminals within the enterprise (i.e., enterprise terminals 111-1 through 111-N), depending on how exchange 110 is programmed or configured. For example, in an enterprise call center, exchange 110 might comprise logic for routing calls to service agents' terminals based on criteria such as how busy various service agents have been in a recent time interval, the telephone number called, and so forth.
Additionally, exchange 110 might be programmed or configured so that an incoming call is initially routed to IVR system 120, and, based on caller input to system 120, subsequently redirected back to exchange 110 for routing to an appropriate telecommunications terminal within the enterprise. Possibly, exchange 110 might queue each incoming call if all agents are busy, until the queued call can be routed to an available agent at one of enterprise terminals 111-1 through 111-N. Exchange 110 also receives outbound signals from enterprise terminals 111-1 through 111-N and from IVR system 120, and transmits the signals on to telecommunications network 105 for delivery to a caller's terminal.
Enterprise telecommunications terminal 111-n, where n has a value between 1 and N, is typically a deskset telephone, but can be a notebook computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and so forth, and is capable of receiving and placing calls via telecommunications network 105.
Interactive voice response (IVR) system 120 is a data-processing system that presents one or more menus to a caller and receives caller input (e.g., speech signals, keypad input, etc.), as described above, via private branch exchange 110. IVR system 120 is typically programmable and performs its tasks by executing one or more instances of an IVR system application. An IVR system application typically comprises one or more scripts that specify what speech is generated by IVR system 120, what input to collect from the caller, and what actions to take in response to caller input. For example, an IVR system application might comprise a top-level script that presents a main menu to the caller, and additional scripts that correspond to each of the menu options (e.g., a script for reviewing bank account balances, a script for making a transfer of funds between accounts, etc.).
Once the call is passed from the IVR system to the appropriate service agent who will handle the video call, the calling party will see not only the agent, but the agent's surroundings as well. This can be distracting in some situations, such as when i) what the caller expects to see, or wants to see, on the video call and ii) what he actually sees, are different from each other.